Shipping automobiles



Feb. 23, 932. J, MCMULLEN Q 1,846,889

SHIPPING AUTOMOBILES Feb. 23, 1932. J..MCMUL| EN SHIPPING AUTOMOBILES' Filed March 5, 1930 2 sheets-sheet' 2 TTONE'Y Patented Feb. 23, 1932 JOHN' MMULLEN, OFBUFFALO, NEW YOBIL' siiirime AUroMoBILns I Appiieamnfiea marcire,

My invention refers to meansfor securing automobiles in a relatively stationary positionV in theV freightlcars in which they aref shipped, a principal objectbeing to provide securing means vof such a nature that the auto- Ymobiles may be anchored firmly without any damage to the car construction, particularly the floor of thecar, the fasteningmeans be# V ing quickly and easily applied or released, and consisting of fewv and simple parts.

In some of the well known methods of load-v ing, owing to the length of the completely assembled `automobiles as they are generally shipped,thepractice obtains tor mount some- Vof the automobiles in an 'inclined or half decked position, as this gives more room and allows 'another car toestandV on all its four wheels and with the engine vhood extending under the half decked automobiles* In thisV case a. horse or frame is required to upholdA mechanismarranged on'the side and roofofthecar, and-operated as required from an active to an inactive'position andthe reverse,

withfrlittle laborv and no loss of material or damage to the'car.` Y v y f-The railway freight cars tolwhich the inventionis adaptable are of various kinds, asr flat cars',gondola cars, or box cars, but Apreferably and usually the latter. In a review of inventions and mechanisms in the' class of automobile anchoring devices it will be found that manifold devices,ofteny elaborate and costly7 have been used forsupportingthe automobiles during shipment in such a man-V nerthat they may be firmlyv lieldfand" prevented from movement either longitudinally .orlaterally withrespect tothe cari; but such4 devices usually involve the'boltingi,'spiking or nailing of'various-clamps to tlie floor or sides ofthe car, all of which have to be forcibly dislodged after use, usually tearing the floor andY 150 damaging the lbox car, so as to cause a large lother Imovement.

. hung'onthe" ceiling of thecariinan idle and1 parts throughout Vall i930. seriai No.- 433,198.'

repair expense. My invention aims to avoid this expense, andconsists essentiallyfin per-1 manent means on the car itself for upholding the' frontend of the half decked automobile,

said means comprising a few easily'op'eratedl 55|A parts which may be used for a long time without injury to the boXcar or the automobile. y Vith the suggested and other objects in view, jmy invention consists further inthe novel combination, constructionfand arrangement of parts, hereinafter described, illus-` trated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out inthe claims hereto appended, vit being understood that variousfchanges in thev form, proportion, size and minor detailsfof construction within'thef scope ofY the claims,Y maybe resorted toY without departing fromf the spirit or sacrificing theadvantages ofthe. er invention..

. To more fullyfdisclose my'pimprovementsf mi Y reference is made to the annexed drawings,

`ldigu're l is a longitudinal section through' portion 'ofthey interior of afboX Cargillus trating4 my :improved Vmeans for supporting" the front-l endv f of a halfdecked `automobile without damage to the' car fioor or other-structuref. l

Figure k2 is a partial transverse sectional i Y Yview of the same, with the car holding me`ch.` S0* anisi'n in front elevation and in the position that the parts `assume when interlo'cked with the automobile `('shov'vn in vdottedlines) "tog f I 'rigidly hold the same against swaying vor Figure 3 is a similar View showingfthe?-V holdingmechanismfrelea-sedfrom theauto mobileand with its lparts'folded together andV inactive position.y

Figure 4 is anenlarged detailpvla-nfvi'fiev'vi of Va partl ofA the holding mechanism. for one,

vside .of the car, being that used for'upholding one end of the front. axle, the mechanism on the otlierfsideilof the car beingafduplioate` y Similar characters ofl reference denotelike` the Vdifferentv figures; of'A the drawings, i n f. i l In'. the oneform ormethod of loading," and" in theV simple kindfof suggested box` car,VV

which I have illustrated `for explanatory purposes only and with no intention of being confined thereto, 1 denotes the half portion or so of a box car, having a floor 1a, and A the dotted outline of an automobile mounted in an inclined or half deck position and held there by the mechanism which constitutes the subject matter of the present invention and is permanently carried on the side wall of.

the box car 1 near the roof of the same.

The automobile A is placed withits rear wheels B on the floor 1a, where they are held by chock blocks 16 that are kept in place by clamps 17. The automobile A is in a half deck position, its front wheels being removed, and its front axle bar() provided with pivoted axle spindles 6, 6, which preferably carry wooden blocks 7. The half decked auto-` mobile allows the placingV of the front hood of another automobile under it, whereby space is economized. f.

When the front end of an automobile,as

'A, is raised to `occupy ahalt' decked position,

itis generally essential to have a strong trame or horsefto hold 1t up. Temporary wooden V-horsesareoften employed and discarCu-zdy strong metallic castings or rods bent into the V-shape to provide the side portions 5a and the apex 5b, the apex member being bent down toran obtuse. angle to the side members 5a,so that when the members 5cl/are in an inclined and operative position -the members 5o may be vertical so that the axles 6 may rest therein, vas in loops, thus enabling lthe i front end of the automobile to be held inY its VV-shape are connected by a longer interme` elevated position. The side lrods 5a of the diate rod 5d, and a shorter cross-piece 5c, to

obtain stiffness" and strength for the entire support, these'pieces 5c and 5cZ'being integral with-the sides 5a. The'ends of the sides 5a `are perforated with openings to receivethe horizontal guide rods 2, whichvare of greater orl less length andare secured tothe sides of the car 1 at pointsoppositeto the elevated front end of auto A. lThese guiderods-EZ may be supported in many different ways, but I find it convenient to lemploy perforated ybrackc-its 3., projecting from the walls of t-he car lrtowhich they are bolted or nailed and holding the rods 2 at a short distance from the sides of the car. The skeletonsuppo-rts 5, Whose perforated sides 5a receive the rods` 2 through their perforations, arethere'forehorizontally adjustable on rods2, so thatthey Vmaybe properly localized A.with reference to the axle spindles 6 and receivethe latterin the apex loops 5b, said supports being capable of being partly rotated on the rods 2 in a holds the ends 5b of the supporting V-frames pressed against the wooden blocks 7 after the spindles (Shave been enclosed in the apex lloops 5b, as seen in Figure 2; and the said locking means comprises a skeleton; oblong frame 8 having two parallel bars that are perforatedv near one end so asto-behung movably on the rod connection cthat unites the sides 5o of support 5 near the loop 5b.` SeeFigure 4.' Also the frame 8 nearitsopf posite en d has its parallel barsunited by1 integ'ral transverse blocks 9 `and 10 that are boredl through with smooth 'passages to receive a screW-threadedA rod 11. f. l

Said rod 11 lies loosely in the -'bored bearing members 9 and 10 through which it travels as in guides Without urtherengaging said parts, and thevrod V11 lies also between the parallel bars of the frame 8, lits inner end .being smooth at 12and having a collar 13 which strikes against the bearing member 9 When the screwV 11 moves out far enough and thus is prevented lfrom being disconnected from bar 8. l

7, to be raised into a horizontal position, 1so- I Vfino 's TheV screw 11 extends some little distance beyond the member 10 and carries thereon a nutflc, which is capable of being adjusted 'its as to brace against the end 5b that holds the Y axle, theother end of this brace being placed against the side wall ofV the car,fso -thatlsaid'v wall is engaged bythepointed end 15;'and whenthe brace is lengthened vto theproper length by adjusting screw 11, or; slipping it f through the loose bearings 9'and-1O until vthe brace makes a close lit against the side `of the car and between thelatter and a part ,offrande 5, then the vnut 14 can be tightenedin its position againsty bearing lOand the' brace -will maintain this position land lock the `automof bile in its. decked positionfuntil the nut 14 is loosened and the mechanism released, so'that the auto maybe removed fromA the Yfreight Car.. Y i

Y Theauto supports ot character on the miV inner opposite side ofthe car are adapted to be locked and unlocked Vat will, and they conl stitute a permanent part of the car equip- Figure 1.

ment and are easily manipulated in loading or unloading, whatever may be the method of loading or the kind of freight; and no damage accrues to the car fromnailing or spiking temporary dunnage therein, vbut the load is easily stored or removed. When the car is empty the locking brace 8 can be folded up against the skeleton frame 5 and the two jointlylifted up against the roof of the car and held there by suitable means, as a hook 4 depending from the ceiling of the car and engaging the brace frame 8, while frame 5 rests on the folded brace 8, see Figure 2.

Therefore it will be seen how these simple contrivances adjustably carried on the car frame may be moved into active position from the idle position shown in Figure 3 and caused to hold up the auto as shown in Suppose that the supports are folded and hung up in the roof out of the way as shown in Figure 3. y Then after the box car is loaded with an automobile, as A, to be shipped, this motor car will be lifted at the front into the inclined position. Then the supports will be disengaged bythe attend- Y ants, one on each'side, by unhooking them from their roof position and lowered to per- 'mit the ends 6 of the front axle to be placed in the vertical loop members 5b of skeleton supports 5. The members 5b will have to be dropped low enough to receive axles 6, after which they can be lifted against the blocks 7, with the apex of the members 5b closely receiving the axles 6,. Next the braces 8 will be brought down into a horizontal position by end of a half decked vehicle in a box car,

which consists in a V-shaped skeletonV supi' port, a rigid railon` the side of thecar on which the support 'isvhung so as to be horizontally adjustable and capable of rotating in a vertical plane, the inner end of said sup# port being formed as a loop to engage the front axle of the automobile, and a bracek lcal plane and-engaging' the front axle of thev automobile, and braces for the supports,

each having two members, one of which is pivoted 'to the support and having bearings and the other member being a. screw slidably mounted in the first member, and kmeans for locking the screw when the bracev is in abracing position. i

In testimony whereof I hereuntoaiix kmy f signature.

'JOHN i MCMULLEN.

rotating them slightly on their pivot rods v V50, after which the screw rod 11 will be thrust out until its end 15 strikes against the side of car 1 and the sharp head 15 embeds itself in the wall of the car. If now the nut 14 is tightened against bearing 10 the whole brace will be maintained in its fullposition occasioned by drawing out the screw 11 to the desired -distance,and the braces will hold the-supports 5in the position shown in Figure 2, where they el'ectually function to uphold the car. When the car is to be released the nuts 14 may be loosened and the braces disengaged so that-supports 5 can be released from thecar axle andthe cark low-v ered into a horizontal position.

Many changes vmay be made in the form, shape, size, and relative arrangement ofthe parts. The skeleton forms of the vsupports and braces may be made more or less solid, or changed in kind withoutl altering their function. And Lmany details may be modied and combinedV differently v.within the scope of the ensuing claims. Y

`VVha't I claim, is :k Y

1. Means for holding uplifted the front V13o *if 

